Day 41 - LAND! Puppy love in Seward, Alaska

At the risk of being predictably boring, but the facts do have to be recorded, though not for posterity, another restless night and Paula was up and about before the 5:45am alarm.  We were just tying up alongside the Celebrity cruise ship, Millennium.  As usual, even though it seems ages since I last had to do this, a paragraph for cruisers.

Ship berthed on the port side.

One of our identical el Cheapo, $30 Vodafone pre-pay phones worked, much to our surprise – Paula’s but not mine… AT & T.

We had a compulsory face to face USA immigration interview on board (see below)

Once processed, scanned by the ship’s system with a paper slip confirmation to be shown at the gangway.

No sign of a HoHo bus – it is a small town after all.

A free shuttle to downtown.

Cruise cards checked on returning to the ship.

Scanning ashore of hand luggage on return.

We’d set the alarm for 5:45am as unlike last time, there was no priority for Princess Tours, it was just a free for all with US Immigration boarding at 6am   We were due to meet on the dock at 7:45am, so opted for an early immigration clearance before breakfast.  So, at 5:45 am we joined the queue.  Now I don’t know what it is about some people, but we had a classic case of dumb stupidity.  Picture a letter ‘T’.  The queue to get into Legends to await processing starts at the very base of the ‘T’.  So the queue builds upwards until it gets to the top of the T, and therefore needs to continue either left or right, so quite why, when we got there, the last two couples (the second one in a wheelchair) were jammed hard against the railings at the top of the T, is anyone’s guess.  What did they expect everyone else to do?  Climb over the balcony behind them, whilst they were totally blocking the thoroughfare?

Anyway, once I’d redirected the last few to bend left, the queue continued to grow at a steady rate.

We were ushered into legend and given a numbered ticket and we were 36/37.  After a few minutes, they called up the first few, but nothing more than a good move to get them to sit down in the library, to allow more people into Legends to sit down. Anyway, at 6:15 prompt, they started the processing.  They barely glanced at our ESTA confirmations and the very friendly staff despatched us both within a matter of seconds, so we were out the door at 6:21. Brilliant and full marks to them.  Better still, after we’d had breakfast and were heading down to meet on the dock for 7:45am, there was no Immigration queue at all.  So, our ploy of booking a Princess tour just to guarantee getting off promptly, backfired spectacularly.

No worries. We were on the dock early enough for the 7:45 meet and at 7:55, on our coach, still awaiting two stragglers…

Off then to one of the few repeat tours we have ever done, the dog sledding experience.  We did this in 2012 and loved every second of it and we enjoyed it again.

This time, we played canny.  When first led to the large compound where the 85 dogs are held, we knew we were in group 2, so stood well towards the exit to where they were showing off Hugo – a TV dog who is nothing like the dogs used.  This meant that when they called our group, we were first and hopped onto the front seats of the buggy!   Last time we weren’t so smart and were at the rear.

The format was the same as before (read the 2012 blog – link on the right!) but this time, the young lady giving the talk and wrapping up ‘Robin’ in his protective gear, wasn’t as good a presenter as last time.  Poor old Robin, the dog, was happier being patted by cruisers, than by being the demo for the protective gear they wear in the snow.  He looked quite bored!

This time, the puppy hold didn’t result in a doggie donation to the jacket décor.  Also, the shop didn’t have as much merchandise as in 2012, so sorry Jules, no dog paw pendant like Mum’s.

Paula did buy a limited edition print though, signed by the Seavey family, and had her pic taken with Grandpa Seavey, the first of the family to have success in the Iditarod.

A run back then to the ship where we dropped off the print before returning to catch the free shuttle bus to town.  The weather out was occasionally quite misty, so much so that at times, even the top of the Celebrity ship was almost shrouded.  Now you can say what you like about women drivers, but when the lady bus driver (who claimed to be local), driving a shuttle coach only from the ship to let’s face it, a 5 street town with a few crossroads, takes a wrong turning, you really do have to wonder, especially when we both knew she’d taken a wrong turn and we’d only been to Seward once before, four years ago.

We ambled around a while and poked our noses into several shops, where prices certainly varied.  We then opted for what turned out to be a surprisingly good coffee and a delicious ham and cheese croissant (warmed - $6), served by 2 Bulgarians, in the same café as last time -  ‘The Sea Bean’ café on 4^th Ave.  It goes without saying that the place had several customers taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi.

Exactly as in 2012, it started to drizzle, so we opted to shuttle back rather than walk back, and this time, our driver, Kade, attracted  a lot of attention by virtue of his headgear.

We thought about hopping off at the stop before the ship, where there were various shops but returned to the ship.

Then Paula developed acute stomach pains again, so at about 6pm, or just after, we headed down to see the doctor - Paula really just wanting some Buscopan.  A couple of minutes later, over the tannoy, “Good evening ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking.”  Uh’uh, here we go again.  “You may have noticed a lot of activity on the dockside.  We are still loading supplies and will now be leaving about 3 hours later than planned.”  Could have been worse.  We had noticed in the morning, that the gangway down to the dock was extremely steep, even for the able bodied.  That was bad enough, but the ship’s loading deck seemed to be a deck lower than the dock, so instead of a succession of fork lifts and pallets replenishing the 8 days’ worth of supplies, they were having to use a crane to lower the pallets, one by one, which was very slow.

Anyway, ninety minutes later, Paula was finally despatched from the medical centre, having endured blood tests, (that was a struggle, getting the blood out!); an ECG (even an ultrasound heart scan); taking 1 Buscopan and getting an informed talk from the Senior Doctor about the various medications she’s been taking, and their effects on the body’s systems.  She also ended up with a bill for just over $400 – just $1.30 was for the Buscopan.

On then to the buffet where most of our table mates were and I had a very tender lamb shank.  Paula just had a jelly.  Very wise in the circumstances.  With a day at sea tomorrow, hopefully, she’ll be OK for our planned whale watch trip at Icy Strait point, the day after.

We were just about getting ready for bed by the time the ship departed, so skipped the sailaway on deck 11.

Overall, a good day though, and we did enjoy the dog sledding experience again, even though it isn’t on snow.  Good to be on land again too, so this was really our turnaround point for this cruise.  Geographically, we are now heading for home and for a while, it will also get warmer, other than up against the glacier of course.

 

 

Days 39 & 40 - Who needs sleep anyway?

Day 39 – An early start

Going to bed at midnight but expecting to be turfed out of the cabin, is not conducive to a good night’s sleep – so we didn’t get one!  In fact, I’d not long managed to get to sleep, when we got the dreaded knock on the door, but it was 5:55am – and almost totally light.  So, having been ready for it, we were dressed and out of the cabin quite smartly.  Smart enough to not head for the Vista lounge, the usual mustering location, but to the atrium on deck 5, where there is a now a 24 hour International Café.  It goes without saying we weren’t the only ones to head that way - but I was second in the queue to be served.

When the poor, lone, night coffee maker (full of smiles), saw a very rapidly growing queue, he very quickly got on the ‘phone for reinforcements, so although I had to wait two minutes for two pots of tea, others had a much longer wait.  I also spied behind the counter, a tray of fresh pastries – and doughnuts!  So of course, I managed a very fresh, iced doughnut too.

The seating soon filled (pic taken at 6:05am) and as they drafted in even more wait-staff, some of whom were obviously not used to dealing with a full house, one of the rather shy waiters seemed to be wandering around for ages with a ‘coffee for Rhonda’. The passengers soon joined in, calling out her name, but I’m sure her coffee wouldn’t have been too hot by the time it arrived.  Incidentally, there was no charge for the coffees.

Someone spied the helicopter through the windows on the port side and by this time, the atrium was pretty full of people, most of whom were dressed in some sort of day clothes, but at least one old dear was in dressing gown and nightie.

At about 6:30am, the early morning coffee regulars started to appear in increasing numbers, blissfully unaware of what was going on, only to find there were no seats left.  Then we saw the helicopter depart and the all clear was given, so most headed off, some (like us) to try and catch up on sleep at some time after 7am, others to make an earlier start to the day.  I missed the 9:30am Shed meeting and only just made trivia at 10:30, so breakfast afterwards was more like our on land NZ brunch time.

On the way back to the cabin, one of us grabbed an ice cream and the other grabbed a coffee.

‘Dancing with the Stripes’ again, heat 2, at 1:45 where DJ Anthony put on a very professional performance with the rumba. He has obviously danced before, whereas just about all the other contestants were definitely at the beginners level.

Once again (thankfully, for the last time), the clocks were advanced at 2pm.  Trivia was early as there was yet another Captain’s Circle do.

The early show was Australian comedian Col Cameron again.  Not as ‘laugh out loud’ as his first show.

For dinner, beef was the main meat dish yet again (that is about three days on the trot) but was a delicious surf and turf, so fillet steak with prawns.

Our late show was a first for us on this class of ship, ‘Ye Olde English Pub Night’.  They did have it on the Royal last year but I don’t think we saw it through to the end.  This time we did, in the Vista lounge, and it was a heck of a lot of fun.  This was a mix of the orchestra, the singers and dancers and the entertainment staff with a lot of rowdy audience participation.

Just to help us sleep afterwards, even though we were understandably a bit tired, we headed back to the International café for a hot chocolate and I also grabbed a cheese platter, thinking that might also help with the sleep.

Still no contact with the ASB bank website so I sent an email to our ISP back in NZ, to see if they had any suggestions.  Nice to get an email from son Stewart, saying the London birthday card, bought and posted in Japan for Noah’s birthday, arrived on time.

Bedtime, there was an expectation that maybe we’d get a bit more sleep, but with that darned clock turning 24 hour days into 23 hour days, who knows?

 

Day 40 – The last of 8 consecutive sea days.

Did the hot chocolate and cheese work?  Nope.  Wide awake at 3am yet again.

Although it is quite cool in this part of the world, it is still shorts weather with maybe a sleeveless top or a sweater if venturing outside.  At a high of 14 degrees, Brits would consider it OK. 

With a score of 17/20, not quite enough for a win at morning trivia.  Ukulele class, someone had suggested the Kiwi song, Pokarekareana, but Salomon worked on it and confused some of us with a vamp intro and a different ending and different chord change points.  I think we got there eventually, but the final vamp was a bit beyond my still stubborn fingers.  My 3^rd and 4^th fingers are still not working properly, despite the exercises.

Late lunch, but no clock advance.  Yippee.  I enjoyed a ricotta and spinach pasta with eggplant parmigiana.

I then made a visit to the Internet café/IT dept., clutching my laptop, already to sign in and show the manager how it wouldn’t now connect to the ASB.  I waited patiently whilst he spent about 15 minutes trying to sort out the gentleman in front with his email problems.

As soon as I said I couldn’t get into my NZ bank, he said “ASB?” then proceeded to tell me they were aware of the problem and were working on it.  Sorry, not good enough – especially when I received a reply from my own ISP, suggesting that the ASB would have blocked it if they were using dodgy servers…  That seems to be the most likely scenario, so I lodged  a written complaint with the front desk, repeating that message and asked for a reply.  Let’s see what happens.  Meanwhile, there is nothing I can do about it, but obviously, we aren’t the only ones stuck with this problem.  Many cruisers carry on working whilst travelling and in this day and age, going to probably a cheap service provider, possibly using  dodgy servers, is not a very clever move by Princess and this has been a major disappointment with Princess this time.

Although we didn’t win afternoon trivia, had I been in our morning team, who finished equal first but lost the play off, we would have won, as I knew one of the questions they got wrong.

The early show was the final of ‘Dancing With The Stripes’ and although Anthony was a clear winner, my vote went to Yasmina from the shop dancing with Rafe, as he didn’t choreograph to show off his own expertise, which some of the other dancers did.  He included Yasmina all the way and for that, as she obviously didn’t have the experience of Anthony, she deserved the vote.

At dinner, Sharon off the other table had arranged for a Thai green chicken curry for both tables.  It was just spot on. William brought it out as a starter, so that left a quandary as to what to have as a main – which was beef again, other than the Curtis Stone belly pork.  I went for the pork, which was really tender, but I donated the crackling to others.  I also indulged in a cider.

Afterwards, we went to the Wheelhouse bar for a bit of a dance and we also had a chat with the comedian, Col Cameron who just happened to wander through.  It was still light at 11pm but bed was 11:30 – but no hot chocolate.  Too full from dinner.

Land tomorrow and the USA immigration. They start processing at 6am or 6:15am.  We have to meet ashore at 7:45am for our dogsled tour – a repeat of our 2012 trip, but we figured that by doing a Princess tour, Immigration would be preferential, but alas, it is a free for all at 6am.  Last time, it was slow, so we set the alarm for 5:45am, determined to be fairly early in the queue, then breakfast afterwards.  We’ll see.

Days 37 & 38 - Christmas in July and an impending hiccup

Day 37 – July 25^th on board – a day later in NZ

As seems to be the case at the moment, another wake up at 3am…

Nothing much to report other than at 3:15pm, we had our ‘Christmas’ and silly hat afternoon tea – but for us, a late lunch, as once again, the clocks, went forward at 2pm.  We didn’t eat much but the warm scone with jam and cream went down well.  One of the highlights was of course Oscar’s famous cheeky masks.  This caused much hilarity as usual and plenty of photographs taken.

Another photo op later as we had another Captain’s Circle welcome meeting and our very popular Captain, Rikard Lorentzen, was happy to pose.  He is popular not only with the passengers, but hugely popular with the staff, which makes for a very, very happy ship.

At dinner, we were offered turkey, which wasn’t on the printed menu, which was very nice indeed, so a Christmas dinner to celebrate July 25^th.  Paula’s stomach objected again, so to the cabin after dinner.

 

Day38 – July 26^th – Happy 6^th Birthday to grandson Noah!

Another rotten night!  At 3am – which seems to be a bad time for everyone, we nearly got up.  Then when I did get to sleep. I didn’t wake until 9:20 – so straight up to ‘Shed’, where we lifted it a notch and the discussion reached the heights of Calculus.  Paula slept on and joined us at trivia, where once again, we were only 2 points away from a win.

After ukulele (middle) class, we headed for the Vista lounge where they had round 1 of ‘Dancing With The Stripes’.  Very popular.  Only then did we get a late lunch – which was more of an afternoon tea.

Paula managed a rice pud.  Ship food can be surprisingly basic and homely as well as exotic.

The early show was Assistant Cruise Director, Jamie Clarke, who has history as a singer, but he is also very funny, so this made for a very entertaining show, with a good repertoire and good audience participation, particularly from one lady.  This was a much better show than many of the guest entertainers, so top marks to Jamie.

We ate at the buffet to limit Paula’s intake. We also managed a lap of the walking deck (7) but it was rather nippy and then headed for the production show, Shimmy.  Although we have seen this at least twice before, we do enjoy it, as it is basically ‘50’s Rock and Roll music with lots of dancing.  However (whenever that word appears, we get thrown), 5 minutes before the show started, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain Speaking”…

That usually signifies a hiccup.  This time, it was to warn us there would probably be a helicopter Med Evac (Medical Evacuation) as we got within range of the Aleutian Islands.  He expected it to be in about 2 to 3 hours, which meant between midnight and 1am.  A lot of shoulder shrugging from most, but for those of us at the rear of the ship and on decks 10 & 11, this would mean a cabin evacuation as a safety precaution, just in case a helicopter hit the rear of the ship, which is where they usually perform the lift.

We did enjoy the show, and opted for a hot chocolate in the atrium, before bedtime, where we were joined by Bert and Larraine from our morning quiz team.  So, off to bed, wondering what the night holds for us.  Presumably, another rotten one in terms of sleep.

 

 

 

Days 35 & 36 - Half the Chunk done - and Ground Hog Day

Day 35

Misty/foggy, wet, windy and cool.  What a contrast from the previous 34 days.  Stuck at sea but powering along at 19.5 knots, with weather like this on Ground Hog day - this was Saturday July 23^rd – again.

A traditional sea day morning so nothing worth writing about and day one of the advanced ukulele class.  There weren’t so many there!   Many of those with their own instruments seem to have stayed in the middle group, as they are still improvers rather than beginners, and know that just having your own, does not make you an expert.  With Salomon pushing hard for the class to learn, say, all the chords in ‘G’, ‘C’ and ‘F’, playing them from the music or a chord chart is one thing, but memorising them all is a different ball game altogether.  At our level, whether it be ukulele or a keyboard, Paula is most definitely a reader and she is not alone.  If you are not going to be playing a 9^th, diminished or augmented chord, particularly on the music issued on the ship, then at the moment, learning them is of academic value anyway and they’ll be easily forgotten.  We’ll see.

The fingers of my left hand are still in rebuild mode after the tendon transfer op and although  much improved, they still lack the strength and dexterity required for some chords and chord changes.

The clock advanced an hour at 2pm again so we were at lunch at 3pm, where the buffet vegetarian curry was supplemented by mushrooms and the roast of the day, pork.  We get  a lot of pork on board.

No Mal and Marie at the afternoon trivia as Mal’s turn to be not well, with a visit to the doc at 4pm.  We didn’t win...

The early show in the Vista was by the atrium pianist/entertainer, Darren Bethell, backed by the orchestra.  A very relaxed and fun performance, including the whole audience taking the mickey out of the latecomers as a group!  Not for the first time, a ship’s entertainer putting on a far better performance than some of the guest entertainers.

The scheduled outdoor deck ‘party’ had to be moved indoors as the weather was too grim and it didn’t really seem to be firing, so we gave it a miss and watched the TV instead.

 

Day 36

Sunday July 24^th, but my diary says  - Monday 25^th.  That is going to be a problem for the next few weeks, but I put my watch back to July 23^rd, so there is some accuracy.  I also keep the dual time on UK summer time at the moment, so that I have a reference of sorts. 

We’d gone to bed about 11pm and had the TV on for another Rock ‘n’ Roll lecture, which was easy enough.  It finished on the dot of midnight and on the off-chance I might be lucky, before switching off, I flicked over to Channel 24 Sport (where they never seem to publish a schedule that goes more than 2 hours ahead) to see the 5 red lights on the gantry of the Hungarian GP, and the start.  Woohoo!  I watched the whole race live and not once did the TV picture pixilate (which is a major problem for much of the day at times).  That meant it was 1:45am before the TV went off.  I was awake and up at 8:30am though.  

More fog, rain and a cool wind.  The hardy ones would be pounding deck 7, getting in their daily exercise, whilst some of us left them to it and ate.  A day for a cooked breakfast and some pork sausage I hadn’t heard of before but they had a real chorizo type kick.

A normal sea day morning and I went with Paula to the Aloha ukulele class and sure enough, Salomon had each attendee on his list have to play 4 chords that he called out – but they were allowed to ‘ring a friend’ (once) if they got stuck.  One or two managed to get all 4, with or without assistance, but Paula wasn’t one of them.  (I wouldn’t have managed either). She asked if that meant she had to return to the beginner’s class, but that wasn’t the intention.  It was a bit of a waste of a 45 minute class and they only played one song - ‘Doh, Ray, Me’,  which is probably the only piece so far, where I can’t manage the chord changes in the verse, as the fingers won’t work.  Just a combination of chords that I find difficult if in a hurry.

A bowl of broccoli soup and a buttered roll sufficed for lunch, before returning to the cabin.

Once again, no internet bank access – not even to their main website.  Weird and very frustrating.  I then started reading a paperback book that has been passed around to several passengers, Michael Connolly’s ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’.  All who have read it have enjoyed it so no doubt I’ll also enjoy it.  That will be the first book I have read on this trip as I left the Kindle at home.

The early show was an Australian comedian we hadn’t seen before.  He started off fairly slowly, but got better and at least he wasn’t telling jokes we’d all heard before.  His finale which went down a real treat, was an adaptation of the famous Ronnie Barker monologue of the story of Rindacella.  (More hiccups for the spell checker.)  He carried it off very well indeed.  For those unfamiliar, it relies on transposed letters at the beginning of a word, so ‘smart fella’ comes out as ‘fart smeller’.  Judging by the audience reaction, this went down really well. 

After two instantly forgettable acts, it was a relief to get back to a decent one.

We had a full turnout for dinner and Mal had been diagnosed as having acute sinusitis.  We had the bowl of crudités again and Marie and I behaved in a way that our parents would have been ashamed of.  At the end of the meal, I used two bread sticks as a goal whilst she tried to score a goal with a cherry tomato…  Very naughty of us.

Although we’d opted out of Sharon Owen’s first show, a Barbra Streisand tribute, there was nothing much else going on (though Paula did manage a Cha-Cha with Graeme which introduced her to a couple of new moves that I have been instructed to learn), so we went to her second show.  Once again, a performer with a fairly good voice, but the patter needs a lot of work.  Part way through, she left the stage as the band played a good rendition of ‘Hello Dolly’ and returned in her Barbra wig and a new dress.  Apart from a good saxophone solo and being bolstered by the resident singer Meghan for a duet, not an act we’d return to in a hurry.  The others in our group when discussing a mark out of 10, rated her much lower than I would have done – but they are really tough!   I’ll stick with a 7/10 to be consistent with other marks.  If you got 7/10 or 70% in an exam, you’d be rapt, but rating performers is slightly different.  In an exam, 5/10 would be average or a pass, but to me, 5/10 or under is a real fail, 6 – 7 passable, 8 and upwards, good.  Maybe I should volunteer to cruise with Princess for free, three months a year, in return for rating staff, food, services, systems and entertainers?

Tomorrow’s evening schedule is a real problem for us, as we have the Mexican at one end of the ship and the juggler at the other, neither of which deserves our attendance, so I hope there is something to dance to.

Well, four days completed of ‘the Chunk’ and still relatively smooth sailing.  There has been a bit of a swell, but hardly noticeable and to date, we haven’t heard of anyone getting seasick, yet we do know that is a real fear of cruising, for those who haven’t yet tried it.  We can’t say it doesn’t happen, because we have had rocky days in the past and we know that lifts banging, wandering down the corridors, up and down the staircases needs a steadying hand, isn’t unusual.

We had an email from M & M who are on the World Cruise and just like us, crossing the Pacific, they had the fog crossing the Atlantic.  Tough for new passengers.  It will be school summer holidays in the UK right now, so we have no idea if they have loads of families on board.  We have only had about 10 youngsters on at any one time and some of them might well be staff family members.

Days 33 & 34 - "The Chunk" - and a disappointed young blonde...

Yup, we are now on an 8 day trip from the East to the West, Yokohama across to Seward in Alaska.  This notorious stretch of ocean can be a little less than smooth but up to date, since leaving Sydney, the sea has been very kind to us and it has been agreeably warm.  With the temperature now dropping under the 20 degree mark, whether it is fine or not, getting a dose of vitamin D and fresh air is going to get a bit harder than it has been.  So far, it has been fine (a pity it wasn’t in Yokohama) and there are still people relaxing out on the open decks, especially those who have only just joined and who may have been getting over a long travel session.  Already, there are signs of more people with the snuffles, but that would be the same even if we were ashore.  My initial dodgy head at the beginning of the day was put down to caffeine withdrawal – easily and successfully cured.

Whether it was the undoubted success of our ukulele concert or a quarter of the newbies on board, we are not sure, but an extra 50, yes, 50, newcomers came along to sign up for the classes on this leg.  Salomon therefore split the newcomers up into two groups.  The 31 ukuleles we had available on board has shrunk to 26 and we are not very happy about that, nor do we know where they have gone, or who has got them.  We doubt that all five were taken off in Yokohama, but nothing would surprise us.  Of those carrying on, we were offered the choice of two further groups, ‘Aloha’ for the middle level (Paula) and ‘Nawiliwili (the spell checker is going to love that…) for the more advanced – and I opted for that, but with some reservations, as there are two or three really experienced players.

All it was, was a sign up today, and I think that Salomon was overwhelmed by the interest.  Having said that, the ship’s ‘Reflections DVD’, filmed on board had the choir session and a segment on our concert.  The general consensus was that the choir came a distinct second.  But, I would say that wouldn’t I?

Now, as the new system has been implemented in terms of the clock changes, our lesson should have been 1pm to 2pm, so leaving the sign up early, we managed a bite to eat just before the clocks changed.  Very nice roast turkey, creamed spinach and pasta, then we sat outside for a bit of sunshine whilst we still could.  We didn’t win trivia, scoring 12 and two thirds.

Early show was a performer I realise I had seen before some time ago, though I can't remember when, but he wasn’t on my famous spreadsheet.  Pity, as he hasn’t improved.  A short Mexican Australian, who asked that if we saw him out on deck, that we should say whether he was a singer telling jokes or a comedian who sings.  To be brutally honest, the first description would be nearer the mark, but even that was an exaggeration,  as this was a poor show by any standard.  Another entertainer who is probably well past his sell by date.  We didn’t escape out of politeness (others did) and our seating position.  We won’t be going to his second show.

Dinner, we had a new waiter, William, who I think we have seen before and he coped with us very well.  Knowing the Princess system pretty well by now, for my main, I opted for the vegetarian korma curry - but with the lamb shank.   As before , the lamb was perfect and it made a nice dish – others wishing that maybe they should have done the same.  We opted out of the 9:45pm show at the last minute, a Barbra Streisand tribute act.  We chatted to Cruise Assistant Director Jamie instead.

Back to the cabin and for a change, we tuned into the recorded lecture, which was part 1 of an 11 part series, by Paul Kearney on the History of Rock and Roll.  Very enjoyable.

 

Day 34 – July 23^rd – the first

Another fine day at sea.  Cutting down at breakfast, I had toast, a banana and coffee – plus a chocolate croissant.  Cut down?  Yup.  I skipped the pineapple…  On to trivia after a full house Shed meet (which seems to be attracting a bit of attention, as occasionally we get a newbie and one waiter takes a head count. Only a point or so behind the winners so a good effort and then on to another Cruise Critic/Pacific Circler’s lunch.   A 12 noon lunch is a wee bit early for us, so just a small bowl of pasta and a glass of water.

We scooted out for the 1pm Ukulele class -  middle group, so Paula’s group, but we both went as there were enough ukuleles.  Salomon is threatening an exam – which may be easier for those with their own ukes, as they can practice.

Once again, clocks forward 1 hour and with quiz at 3:15 for a change (another Captain’s Welcome aboard party), no time to do much.   Just 2 behind the winners, but Garry’s turn for the snuffles, so he rested.

No luck connecting not to the internet as such, but the internet banking.  Not sure why.  It was formal night again and the early show was the orchestra playing music for dancing.  Here, I must confess, that after a sterling performance on the dance floor with Paula, we sat down and a dishy young blonde (dancer?) in a lovely red dress asked ME for a dance!  It rather caught me on the hop so to speak and I had to turn her down, as those who know me well will know that I only dance with Paula - and she just makes me look good!  Needless to say, I got a lot of ribbing later, but at least the dancer didn’t get her toes trodden on.

Dinner was fillet steak, which was very nice indeed and I succumbed to the same chocolate hazelnut dessert as before.

The late show was American juggler, Dan Bennett.  Should have changed his name to Gordon.  He came on in casual trousers and spent half his time hitching them up, trying to make the mike wire more comfortable, but his very fast, nervous, overly Americanised patter detracted so much from his act that this was another fail.  It might have been OK for precocious American children, but not for mature, worldly-wise Australasians, used to decent shows.

And on to the cabin and watched part 2 of the Rock and Roll lecture series.

Groundhog day tomorrow as we cross the International Date line, so we get Saturday July 23^rd all over again, which then puts us about 12 hours BEHIND GMT, instead of ahead.  Very  confusing for some.  Later in the cruise, just before returning to Auckland, the clocks jump forwards a day.  Let’s see if the (new) captain does those hourly changes at 2am or 2pm.

The sea is still smooth, but rain and cooler weather is forecast.

As we approach Alaska, we had a note to say that we need a hard copy of our ESTA paperwork.  For those not familiar, the US Visa waiver system is an electronic on line system ($14 for 2 years) but there is no stamp in your passport.  At some minor US ports, they do not have a full set of electronic terminals so you need the hard copy.  There will be a face to face Immigration interview each time we enter US ports for the first time, so that means before and after Canada.

The Internet is dreadfully slow at the moment as most people are on it, so picking a time to try and connect is not easy. So apologies if you had to wait to read this.

Day 32 - Misty Morning and a drizzly day in Yokohama

Sadly, we woke to a very soggy Yokohama with ominous black clouds and a depressing outlook over what is one of the most environmentally friendly and clever port structures anywhere.  From the air, all you would see would be grass and beautifully made timber decks and the whole port building complex is therefore totally hidden.  Our berth was the opposite side of the wharf from 2012, so when I state that the ship berthed starboard or port side, it can of course change from year to year.

Ship berthed on the port side (see note above).

Our el Cheapo, $30 Vodafone pre-pay phones still worked - ‘Welcome to Japan’’.

We still had our passport photocopy stamped at Hakodate, so just a walk off. 

The stamped, stickered copy was surrendered before leaving Japan.

No sign of a HoHo bus, but a free shuttle to downtown – which we didn’t expect.

Cruise cards checked on returning to the ship.

Ship’s hand luggage scanning on return.

Knowing we’d nothing planned and that shops generally didn’t open early anyway, a leisurely fruit breakfast, coffee bag coffee and croissant – though someone had forgotten the chocolate drizzle and almonds atop those on easy access, but those behind glass were complete - so naturally, I asked for one of those instead.

We ambled off at 10:30, loaded with our long waterproof jackets, which Paula wore on and off for the rest of the morning.  The shuttle dropped us off just around the bay and within easy walking distance of their large ‘Eye’, which was operating, but in the drizzle and the mist, a bit pointless. We didn’t venture into the amusement park either.  Shame.

We crossed the road and thanks to the local map, hopped on the moving walkway, which took us through to the Queens Tower and adjacent shopping mall.  Apart from a group of senior Japanese gentleman with video cameras on tripods, awaiting a performance by a police band, nothing special about the mall – if you discount the high percentage of white faces from a visiting cruise ship.  Although we stretched out our time as best we could, it was about 1pm again by the time we got back to the ship and there was no sign of the weather improving.

We handed in our passport copies and headed for the buffet – of course.

I skipped the fish options and returned to a tender lamb curry, whilst Paula stuck to mainly salad and a couple of crumbed prawns.   She then spied Graeme and Linda, our Rock and Roll specialists who had just boarded.  I’m not saying what a bargain they got with a window cabin, flights from Australia, and the rest of the cruise back to Sydney, other than at about $100 a night, it was considerably less per night than our bill.

Time for blog updates but for some reason, try as I might, I couldn’t get the our ASB bank site to load.

As we pointed out last year, maritime law now demands attendance at the muster/lifeboat drill every thirty days.  Rather boring and I’m sure ta for repeat cruisers they could do a shortened version.  Just before, Paula didn’t feel well again, so something is upsetting her system.  Straight after, even though it was dinner time,  she returned to the sanctuary of the cabin and didn’t eat at all, just hot water and lemon.

I couldn’t survive so headed up and enjoyed a fairly light meal and a chat with G & L, then returned with a jelly each and anther drink, but Paula opted to stick with the water.

As we are heading north again shortly after leaving Japan, the Captain announced that instead of the ships clocks being advanced at 2am each day, for the next 7 days (plus crossing the date line, July 23^rd, which we then get twice!), they would be advanced at 2pm.  The rationale being that rather than losing an hour’s sleep each day, we’d lose an hour during the day, which people might not notice.  By the time we get to July 23^rd for the second time, we’ll be behind GMT, rather than in front…

We now start ‘The Chunk’, the 8 day run across to Alaska, so I doubt there will be too much to write about and even fewer pics, so don’t expect too much, though who knows, with all that sea time, there will be time to blog, read a book or do word puzzles, but internet access is going to be slow and maybe difficult until we reach land again, Friday July 29^th – where the first hurdle will be US Immigration, which is notoriously slow for those not on a Princess tour.

Day 31 - From beginners to a debut performance on stage!

Another sea day before the last stop on this first sector and a few wrap ups in the schedule.  With about 200 getting off tomorrow and another 200 getting on, for some, the end of their cruise, whilst for most others, not even half way.  Ironically, we are now heading south again, for Yokohama, so it is slightly warmer and another fine day.  No Coldral and feeling OK, time to revert to a cooked breakfast.  It is rare that I ever have scrambled eggs when eating out, as they are invariably too overcooked for my liking, but on board, they usually have plain scrambled eggs and also favoured eggs (mushrooms, or salmon, mushrooms, ham and cheese etc.) and certainly on this cruise, they have always been nicely moist and a far better bet than the rubbery poached eggs on offer.  As I have mentioned in previous blogs, there are also two types of sausage.  The small link sausages (which are very tasty) and a speciality sausage, which can be anything from the fiery chorizo, to turkey sausages, Andouille etc.  So easy to build a breakfast to suit.

No rush to get away from “The Shed” as the morning trivia was at 11am, put back as they had one of the very popular cooking demonstrations in the Vista lounge, which was followed by a galley tour.

Although we didn’t win, we were only 1 point behind the winners, which was yet another good effort for the ‘Shipkickers’.

A cabin visit and a ukulele warm up before the grand debut/final concert in the Vista lounge at 2pm.  Much to our surprise, the lounge was packed!  The format was the ladies sat and the men stood behind, but with the very poor lighting, reading the music without a personal stand wasn’t easy.  Paula was totally blocked out by some stroppy woman who refused to sit down or stand at the back, so she obviously wanted to be seen.  There’s always one…

Anyway, Salomon conducted his pupils and introduced each song and singer and we had five pieces on the schedule, with three different singers and a 6^th song and fourth singer, just in case there was a call for an encore – which of course there was!   By all accounts, it went down very well indeed and the Hawaiian shirts certainly made it look authentic.  So from beginners a month ago to a successful stage performance says a lot for Salomon’s tutoring and judging by the number of new ukulele’s purchased ashore, several people have actually had a genuine enrichment as part of the cruise.  For those of us not wanting to play water volleyball, basketball, bridge, goofy golf, indoor bowls or even knit, something of genuine value.  Sadly, we had no CDs for sale and therefore no need for autograph signing afterwards.

Up to the buffet for a soup and a bread roll then Paula paid a visit to the hair salon.  I stayed and had a long, pleasant chat with John Graham the ballroom instructor until about 3:45!  We didn’t win afternoon trivia, though the winning team did kindly donate a couple of carabiners (thanks Marlene)  and we managed a quick nod before dinner.

Sadly, this was our waiter Ricky’s last night, as he leaves tomorrow and heads back to Indonesia to await the birth of his first child, apparently due anytime now.  I think he was very touched to get little gifts from the table (he’ll need an extra bag!) ‘Blue Cards’, tips, a group photograph and very, very, fond farewell’s, with a speech from Garry.  The bomb Alaska parade wasn’t quite as significant after that.   We’ll miss him as he has been an excellent waiter.

On then to the theatre fir a combined show featuring Russell Hamilton and Will Martin and a guest spot from Andrew Geiter, the ship’s singer. I really enjoyed the show, but Paula wanted more of Will Martin.   Incidentally you rugby loving Kiwis back in NZ.  Will is one of the official anthem singers before the rugby matches and turned to singing when he realised his physique wouldn’t get him into playing for the All Blacks.  As an anthem singer, he said he’d done it 8 times and the All Blacks won all 8 matches.

A good show to end the first sector and  bed at 11:30pm, ready for Yokohama tomorrow – but the weather forecast isn’t the best.  Those heading to see Mt Fuji may be a little disappointed, but we’ll stay local as last time, we saw Tokyo, but nothing of Yokohama.

Hopefully Jo will post a pic of the Ukulele concert, but I suspect she couldn’t see Paula…

 

 

Day 30 - Hakodate - sea to sky

A good night’s sleep and the head cold seems to have vanished. Thank goodness.  No rush to get moving as we had nothing booked in terms of morning tours.  After breakfast, we had Japanese immigration to deal with, which once again was an on board face to face – but with a twist or two, before going ashore.

Ship berthed on the starboard side.

Our el Cheapo, $30 Vodafone pre-pay phones worked - ‘Welcome to Japan’’ – Paula’s outgoing text did go.

A passport photocopy is required as issued by the ship and a sticker is affixed to the back and stamped. 

The stamped, stickered copy is retained for the next Japanese port and surrendered before leaving Japan.

The stamped passport had to be shown on leaving the ship.

No sign of a HoHo bus, but a free shuttle to town.

Cruise cards checked on returning to the ship.

Ship’s hand luggage scanning on return.

Over the tannoy came the message that the queue for immigration was about 15 minutes.  By the time we ambled down, it was about the same.

We queued outside the Legends bar and once at the entrance, were given a numbered ticket. We then sat and waited until our number was called. Then we waited in line yet again, for the queue to move through the library, through the internet cafe and finally into the Vista lounge, past the thermal camera, making sure no overheated bodies got ashore.  (Someone needs some training on how to manage queues effectively…) The sticker was attached to the back of our photocopy and we waited for the next official. This time, it was a fingerprint system. Left and right forefingers on the pad.

Right hand – green light.  Left hand – red light. Try again. Same.  Try again, after a wet-wipe across the fingers.  Another fail, but the nice young guy merely stamped my paperwork, winked and waved me through!

The shuttle into town was straightforward other than the Japanese coach design must be aimed at the very short legged ones, as my knees were not only jammed up against the seat in front, but also up against the cup holder.  In the event of a bus crash of even minor severity, my kneecap wouldn’t survive.   I can only wonder about Air Japan or Nippon airways.  Not worth the risk.

The coach dropped us in town at the bus station and on the way through, it was like a ghost town. There was virtually no traffic, foot or road.  Almost eerie. 

It wasn’t long before we found the local morning market – along with most other cruisers it seems.  There were “Welcome to the Sun Princess” signs on several stalls, but one elected to stand out from the crowd.  Now we have been going to markets in many countries for many, many years, starting with as children, Nottingham’s Sneinton Market and the Central Market.  Sneinton Market was one of Dad’s all-time favourite places and a few yards from the Army surplus stores, where he bought anything from yet more Morse key tappers to bomb aiming mechanisms (I kid you not!).  Hakodate’s market however, seemed to consist of stalls selling seafood or melons.  Well, at least 90% would be covered by that observation.

I have never seen so many crabs, dead or alive anywhere.  They varied from the small to medium to giant.  Weighed and killed on the spot, (see pic) sold frozen or chilled, BBQ’d or steamed, it was up to you.  Kids were even catching their own squid and there were packets and packets of goodness knows what, as nothing much was in English.  This wasn’t just a market of half a dozen stalls either.  What we didn’t see was meat and there were very few fruit and vegetable stalls, but there were melons galore for sale.  Our photo collection of produce probably explains more than words ever could.

The rest of the town within easy walking distance didn’t offer much, but I did buy a birthday card for grandson Noah.  The Onesmart card wouldn’t work so I used Mastercard.  That was our only purchase.  No doubt there are other areas of Hakodate that are busier, but one option for visitors is the bullet train, which I believe made it to the area earlier this year.  Hakodate is supposed to be a holiday destination for locals, but we didn’t really get to a beach area or anywhere where that would suggest a traditional resort.

We headed back to the ship lunch time, preferring food items that were recognisable and yes, maybe we do miss out on some of the local food experiences, but that is our choice!

After a light lunch, we headed back to the cabin where we diligently embarked on a bit of ukulele practice.

We had a Princess 6:45pm tour booked to go up the cable car to the top of Hakodate mountain.

We may have thought it wasn’t a tourist destination earlier, but Tuesday night up there probably proved it was a tourist attraction.  There were thousands there.  The cable car carries about 125 people (all standing) and probably takes around 5 minutes to fill, run and then empty.  At the summit was a large gift store inside and several viewing platforms outside, giving great views, but usually hogged by people who just occupied a spot, took a pic or two then just stood there, so turnover was slow and a good viewing spot difficult.  As we were there at sunset, the initial expectation was of some spectacular pics, but that wasn’t to be.

If queuing to get on the cable car to go up was busy, queuing to come back down was chaotic.  We were patiently waiting in line with the rest of bus #3, about three wide, when a tour guide brandishing a multi-coloured flashing light stick elbowed her way past – but her flock never followed, as they were polite Aussies and Kiwis… It was bus #1 I think, who had a 5 minute later assembly time.  We couldn’t all get on the cable car at the same time but the upside of that was that we were first in line for the next empty car.  Boy, you had to be quick to get to the window as we were just about shoved out of the way by those behind - who were not Aussies and Kiwis…

We’d taken the 6:45pm tour and were back in 2 hours. Those on the 7:45pm tour had the problem of two tardy passengers who wandered off and even longer queues, so were last on the ship, 15 minutes late.  Maybe tour guides should take the names and cabin details of those who hold up others and they are then tagged on the Princess system?

Back on board, it was open dining anyway (and late) so a meal at the buffet which was a real mix, by choice.  Chicken schnitzel, a piece of salmon (I’m trying to eat fish most days) guacamole and very tasty samosas, with a potato and lentil filling, rather than potato and pea, plus a spoonful of pasta with a carbonara sauce.  A chat afterwards to a couple we have seen on other trips, but never really chatted to before - and a late coffee.       

Sailaway was about 11pm, but I don’t think too many people assembled on deck 11. (We did hear that some had their pyjamas on under their outer clothes.)

A day at sea tomorrow and our Ukulele debut/final concert in the Vista lounge.  Wow! From beginners to performers in a month…  I wonder how often that happens. I’d guess that we may get about 50 to 100 spectators.

Day 29 - Cruise Critic lunches and formal nights. It's tough.

Today marked the start of our fifth week and the end of most people’s fourth week. The cooler weather didn’t seem to help my sinuses so a medically dosed day, with the prospect of most of it indoors not helping too much.  A Coldral tablet certainly helped.  I slipped up by wearing a sweatshirt first thing, but a huge mistake, as under the large glass windows at the front of the ship, it was anything other than cool, so after Shed, I reverted to a short sleeved shirt.

We had a clash of options as trivia was at the same time as the final ukulele rehearsal for class 1 and class 2 overlapped the Pacific Cruiser’s group photo at 11:30.  We opted for trivia and class 2, missing out the photoshoot, but we were able to make lunch, Paula going on ahead whilst I dumped the loan ukuleles and the music in our cabin.

Neither of us were very hungry as 12 noon is way too early for our lunch, so we opted for the toasted pastrami sandwich, (with chips!) and a glass of water or three.  That worked well enough and we ended up sitting with Jo and Garry!

The afternoon was still cool and we retired to the cabin.  Paula had a long nana nap whilst I tried to keep up with the blog, but needed another Coldral before a 7:30pm meet for a double table photo-shoot.  The prime positions on a formal night are commandeered by the ship’s photo staff – naturally, so we invaded the Kai Seafood Bar to use their wall as a backdrop.  The staff were very accommodating, considering none of us were eating there.

One of the formal night favourites was jumbo prawns as a starter, but as a main, the famed lobster tail also with prawns and another option being the beef Wellington.  Unlike a commercial restaurant when you may have to choose between two mains (or Royal Caribbean where there is a hefty surcharge for the lobster), the joy of cruising is being able to substitute one of them for a starter (or in addition to the starter of course) at no extra cost and sure enough, both of mine arrived at the same time.  Delicious.

We skipped dessert as there was a strong push for passengers to go to the premiere performance of the new Princess show – “Bravo”.  Although we were disappointed that violinist Chris Watkins wasn’t part of it, the regular ship orchestra was supplemented by the two classical violinists, Fiore; the opera singing duo “Le Stelle”; the party band’s drummer as percussionist and Salomon on keyboard.  The regular drummer was thankfully behind a Perspex screen, so the overall sound, which included a fair bit of recorded music, was very impressive.  The dancers didn’t have much space in which to move, as the music set was quite dominant, so the real emphasis was on the singing and the music.  Despite the warnings to be seated early (we were there 40 minutes early!), there were still seats available, but the show is to be repeated in 2 days’ time anyway and also on the next sector. 

Come bed time at 23:15. I was feeling a lot better, so fingers crossed that Hakodate in Japan tomorrow, will be a good stop.  The warning is for the possibility of some rain.  The sea is still very smooth and the weather overall has been very kind to us.  Pretty good for a month.